Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Remains of a modern glacier found near Mars' equator implies water ice possibly present at low latitudes on Mars even today      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists revealed the discovery of a relict glacier near Mars' equator. Located in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus at coordinates 7° 33' S, 93° 14' W, this finding is significant as it implies the presence of surface water ice on Mars in recent times, even near the equator. This discovery raises the possibility that ice may still exist at shallow depths in the area, which could have significant implications for future human exploration.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Extensive catalog of exploding stars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The largest data release of relatively nearby supernovae (colossal explosions of stars), containing three years of data is publicly available via the Young Supernova Experiment (YSE).

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System, or WORMS, is a reconfigurable, modular, multiagent robotics architecture for extreme lunar terrain mobility. The system could be used to assemble autonomous worm-like parts into larger biomimetic robots that could explore lava tubes, steep slopes, and the moon's permanently shadowed regions.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Webb Telescope captures rarely seen prelude to supernova      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The rare sight of a Wolf-Rayet star -- among the most luminous, most massive, and most briefly detectable stars known -- was one of the first observations made by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in June 2022. Webb shows the star, WR 124, in unprecedented detail with its powerful infrared instruments. The star is 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

Spatial patterns in distribution of galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In an unlikely pairing, a chemist and an astrophysicist applied the tools of statistical mechanics to find similarities in spatial patterns across length scales.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists call for global push to eliminate space junk      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As almost 200 countries agree a legally-binding treaty to protect the High Seas, a collaboration of experts in ocean plastic pollution and satellite technology has urged world leaders to learn lessons from the management of the High Seas and act now to protect Earth's orbit.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: General
Published

Underused satellite, radar data may improve thunderstorm forecasts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Tens of thousands of thunderstorms may rumble around the world each day, but accurately predicting the time and location where they will form remains a grand challenge of computer weather modeling. A new technique combining underused satellite and radar data in weather models may improve these predictions, according to a team of scientists.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Researchers unveil smart contact lens, capable of implementing AR-based navigation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has introduced core technology for smart contact lenses that can implement AR-based navigation through a 3D printing process.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

ALMA traces history of water in planet formation back to the interstellar medium      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Observations of water in the disk forming around protostar V883 Ori have unlocked clues about the formation of comets and planetesimals in our own solar system.

Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

How does the immune system react to altered gravity?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Space travel has always tested the human body by the effects of the new conditions of altered gravity on biological systems. It has long been known that continuous exposure to microgravity conditions human physiology and causes effects that compromise muscular, sensory, endocrine and cardiovascular functions. But is it also risky to be exposed to altered gravity for short periods of time?

Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Flat, pancake-sized metalens images lunar surface in an engineering first      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers and amateurs alike know the bigger the telescope, the more powerful the imaging capability. To keep the power but streamline one of the bulkier components, a research team created the first ultrathin, compact metalens telescope capable of imaging far-away objects, including the moon.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

The planet that could end life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A terrestrial planet hovering between Mars and Jupiter would be able to push Earth out of the solar system and wipe out life on this planet, according to a recent experiment.

Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have mapped the sparse life hidden away in salt domes, rocks and crystals at Salar de Pajonales at the boundary of the Chilean Atacama Desert and Altiplano. Then they trained a machine learning model to recognize the patterns and rules associated with their distributions so it could learn to predict and find those same distributions in data on which it was not trained. In this case, by combining statistical ecology with AI/ML, the scientists could locate and detect biosignatures up to 87.5 percent of the time and decrease the area needed for search by up to 97 percent.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

DART impact provided real-time data on evolution of asteroid's debris      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When asteroids suffer natural impacts in space, debris flies off from the point of impact. The tail of particles that form can help determine the physical characteristics of the asteroid. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission in September 2022 gave a team of scientists a unique opportunity -- to observe the evolution of an asteroid's ejecta as it happened.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General
Published

Resurrected supernova provides missing link      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have discovered a supernova exhibiting unprecedented rebrightening at millimeter wavelengths, providing an intermediate case between two types of supernovae: those of solitary stars and those in close-binary systems.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumb trick inspires robotic exploration of caves on Mars and beyond      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Future space missions likely will send robots to scout out underground habitats for astronauts. Engineers have now developed a system that would enable autonomous vehicles to explore caves, lava tubes and even oceans on other worlds on their own.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

The future of touch      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Haptic holography promises to bring virtual reality to life, but a new study reveals a surprising physical obstacle that will need to be overcome.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Ultracool dwarf binary stars break records      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star's 'year' lasts just 17 hours.